Demons And Butterflies
by xXAlixXx
Summary: Two years after their dangerous journey the gang is still trying to settle back into their normal lives. Feelings of betrayal and anxiety still heavily linger around them all as they try to forget the hell they saw that night... But something seems wrong... So very wrong... This story takes place After the "everyone survives" Ending of Until Dawn... but with a twist...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It had been almost two years now… two incredibly long lonely years since that night. The night our lives changed forever. In a panic we all got separated and things rolled down hill quickly, Josh had lost his mind and there was something in the woods… something none of us would have ever expected. The Wendigo. Almost two years ago my friends and I made it off of that hellish mountain, everyone except Josh. Ever since that night I've felt so empty, so afraid. Every time I walk out the door I expect to see them, those grotesque creatures. Our lives will never be the same… After that night we all grew apart, we were still all friends though. Chris finally asked Ashley to be his girlfriend, Mike and Jessica are still going strong, and Emily and Matt worked things out despite how rocky everything was for them after that night.

The memory last memory I have of Josh was short, telling Mike to lead Josh to safety back through the way we came. Mike tells me that the Wendigo got Josh, Dragged him away. We never saw Josh again, his body was never recovered, and we didn't even have a funeral. That night will haunt me forever… Now every night I am plagued by nightmares, I just try my best to stay awake…Until Dawn…


	2. Chapter 1- Hallucination

My Alarm blared suddenly, startling me out of my restless sleep. I slammed my fingers on the off button before walking to my closet and pulling off my Pj's. I pulled on a simple t-shirt and jeans, grabbed my phone, and headed out of my room into the kitchen. As I searched my cupboards for something to eat I heard a light knock on my front door.

"Just a second!" I shouted, making my way to the front door. Peering through the peep hole I saw to familiar faces. I pulled the door open and smiled. "Chris, Ash, what brings you to my door step?" closing the door after they came into my house, I turned to them.

"Well we were in the neighborhood and decided you needed a day out of the house!" Ashley said excitedly, Chris just smiled and agreed.

"Oh you decided that huh? I wasn't aware you had taken on the secretary job position for my life" I snorted as I began walking back to the kitchen.

"Come on Sam" Ashley frowned as he hastily walked in front of me."It's been like FOREVER since you've hung out with us outside of this place. Maybe we'll find you " She giggled, tugging on my arm a little.

"Thanks but I think I'm gonna wait here for Prince Charming. Never been a ' ' kinda gal." I leaned against my kitchen counter, Facing the both of them.

"Oh come one Sam, the whole point of a gap year is to explore and see new things." Chris mumbled, hugging Ashley from behind.

"Yeah, when it's a gap year from school. Not a gap year from 'Wrong turn 7' starring eight friends on a snowy mountain. Besides, a gap year implies only one year. I'm thinking a five year vacation is more appropriate for me." Ashley had broken away from Chris, pulling me away from the counter.

"Look, you are leaving this house even if I have to make Chris drag you out." I looked to Chris, only for him to look away and whistle awkwardly. "please Sam? Let's just take it one step at a time, Just a simple lunch date and we'll go from there." Lunch? I looked at the clock and realized it was already 1pm. I sighed softly, giving into Ashley's demands.

"Fine…" I grumbled. "But I'm not going looking like this. Give me a minute to change?" Before she could say anything I ran to my room, shutting the door tightly. Ashley and I hadn't been very close before, but after Chris made it clear how he felt about her, I started spending a lot more time with them. Over the past two years Ashley had grown the closest to me, Chris being a close second place to me. I exchanged my t-shirt for a simple tank top and jacket and pulled my hair into a tight ponytail before heading back out to the kitchen to grab my keys.

"Ready to head out?" Ashley asked with victory in her voice. I nodded and followed them out the door, locking it behind me. I got into the back seat of Chris's car.

"Ugh. I feel like a third wheel." I muttered. Ashley just laughed, Chris doing the same.

"Don't you worry Sam, I'm sure Ash will find you the perfect date." Chris grinned at me through the rearview mirror. "Until then, practice you're happy face. You looked absolutely thrilled." Sarcasm dripped from his words as I put on a very obvious fake smile.

"But really I'm dragging you on a blind double date right now!" Ashley exclaimed, clapping excitedly.

"What! Ash! I look terrible, and I'm not ready to date anyone right now! I just want to focus on me." I kicked her seat half heartedly as I sunk down into mine.

"Oh relax, I'm joking. No guy I know wants to get lunch at your favorite vegan restaurant. Hell not even I do." She snorted. I looked out the window as we passed the old Washington house. After their kids had died, Mr. and Mrs. Washington had moved far away. None of us had heard from them since Josh's in house life ceremony.

When we got to the restaurant, I immediately saw Mike and Jessica through the window. Jess caught a glimpse of me and jumped out of her seat, running over and pulling me into a hug.

"Oh my god! You actually got her out of the house!" Jessica laughed, Cheerful as always. We all slid into the booth, me being squished between mike and Ashley. Jess slid into the other side across from Mike and Chris slid in after.

"You guys… I could just pull up a chair at the end of the table."

"No! I don't want you so feel left out" Ashley giggled as she leaned against me, planting a kiss on my cheek."

"Whatever you say." I rolled my eyes and tried my best to look out the window without staring at Mike. That's when I happened, across the street at the bus stop. I saw a familiar face staring back at me. "J-Josh?" I whispered. My eyes grew wider

"Wait what?" Chris looked and me with shock and confusion. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, and when I looked back Josh was gone.

"He was…"

"Oh honey…" Ashley tried her best to hug me. These hallucinations had been happening ever since that terrible night, It was the reason I stopped going outside. Everywhere I looked Josh was there. He was the mailman, or store clerk, or sometimes even my own reflection. They all knew I was going crazy, I could feel it lingering in the air. Chris was the only one who understood how I felt, after all, Josh was his best friend. After Hannah and Beth died Josh came to Chris and I for a lot of moral support, after the year I felt like we had developed a really strong connection but then he played such a cruel sick joke on us all. I didn't know how I was supposed to feel, all I knew was I missed him. I missed my friend, and I'm sure Chris felt the same.

"Let's just… eat okay? I'm fine. Just seeing things I guess." Everyone seemed so uneasy all of a sudden. The meal seemed to have gone by so painfully quick, we all ate in silence. Occasionally Ashley or Mike would try to lighten the mood and they even got Jessica to laugh a few times but all I could do was tune them out. Chris stared at his plate, picking it apart, barely eating at all. His eyes seemed so sad, so damaged. Eventually we said our goodbyes, we all hugged and Chris and Ashley took me home. By the time we had gotten there it was almost 4pm, Ashley offered to stay with my but I kindly declined. I just wanted to be alone.

I locked the doors and windows, closing all the curtains as I went. I turned on all the lights and turned my stereo on to a low volume, as I sat on my couch and starred at my front door. I felt as though I was losing my mind, if I had stayed with them. If I hadn't insisted on climbing up the rocky cave wall, if I had found a way to take them up with me… maybe Josh would still be alive. Maybe, just maybe, we would have gotten him the help he needed to live a normal life.

I shook my head in disbelief "You're being crazy Sam" I whispered to myself. Before grabbing the remote and turning on the television. For a while I actually managed to relax and zone out, flipping through channels and laughing a crummy movie dialogue for hours before passing out on the couch. Sleeping dreamlessly for the first time in years.


	3. Chapter 2- Main Man

I was woken by a loud pounding on my door, I glanced at my phone: 2am. Who the hell could be at my door at two in the morning? I got up and opened the door slowly and to my surprise I saw Chris.

"Hey…" he spoke softly. "Mind if I come in?

"No, of course not. What's up Chris? Is everything okay?" A bright flash exploded in the dark sky behind him, I hadn't even noticed until the light illuminated the water that it was pouring down rain. Chris, who was wearing a long sleeved black shirt and jeans was completely soaked, his blonde hair plastered by water to his forehead. He stepped inside, shaking the water out of his hair like a dog. "Ugh! Chris!" Instinctively I tried to protect my face from his assault of tiny water droplets with my hands.

"Aw what's the matter Sam, afraid to get wet?" He laughed, closing the door behind him.

"oh hush." I mumbled. Walking back over to the couch I slowly sat down and rubbed my eyes.

"Did I wake you?" He kicked his shoes off and sat at the other end of the couch, His body facing mine. Leaning back he placed his feet on my coffee table and rested his hands behind his head. I put my feet in his lap and covered us with the throw blanket I keep on the back of the couch.

"No, not at all, It's only two in the morning." I joked.

"Smart ass." He smiled, and for a moment we sat in silence… just looking at each other.

"Soooo… What brings you here this late?" You can't say you were in the neighborhood, you and Ash live on the other side of town so don't even try it." A smirk pulled at the corner of my lips.

"Well, If you MUST know… Ash and I had a fight, and I just figured that I wasn't feeling too happy so I wanted to see you. Plus after what happened at the restaurant I wanted to make sure you were okay." He said calmly as he looked up at the ceiling.

"A fight? Is everything alright between you guys?" I wondered out loud, thinking that I should call Ashley to let her know he made it here safe.

"Yeah it's no big deal, just a little heated conversation. Told her I needed to take a walk to clear my head and I ended up here." His mouth curled into a smile. "Hey uh… Do you mind if I use your washer and dryer?" Suddenly I remember the rain.

"Fuck! Chris gets off the couch!" I pulled my feet off of him, trying my hardest not to laugh as he jumped up, leaving a giant wet spot in his place. I covered my mouth to muffle my giggles.

"Man, it looks like I peed."

"I knew your house training couldn't be trusted" I stood up and hurried to the hallway closet to grab some towels, my laughter continuing only until I got back and saw Chris pulling his shirt off. I tossed him the towels and he tossed me his shirt. "Make sure you dry off, we don't need our friendly neighborhood dork getting sick."

"Oh ha-ha." He snorted as he pulled the towel over his head. I walked down the hall and into the laundry room, tossing his shirt into the washer.

"I'm gonna need the rest of your clothes!" I shouted.

"As you wish." I jumped at the sound of his voice being right behind me. Turning and hitting his naked chest. The towel hung messily off of his head and he stood in nothing but his boxers.

"You jerk!" I squeaked "I totally didn't expect you to be there." I frowned, taking his wet clothes from him. "You're gonna want to shower and wash the boxers too Chris."

"Well I'm pretty sure you don't need to see me naked."

"You're right. Let's not re-live sophomore year" I joked. "I have some stuff you can wear. Ill go grab it." I laughed as I walked by him. He followed close behind.

"I just want you to know that I only wear strapless dresses. Oh and green is my color, it makes my eyes pop!" he flopped onto my bed, grinning his big wolfy grin from ear to ear.

"Well sorry for you, I only have some old sweat pants and a wife beater." I dug through my dresser drawers, pushing aside my clothes to find the articles of clothing shoved into the back. I tossed him the clothes and began to turn my back when I noticed a surprised look on his face.

"These are Josh's…" his voice was so quiet I could hardly understand him.

"Oh, ummm yeah." I looked away, slightly embarrassed. "It's from the last night he stayed at my house." I chuckled a little.

"Wait… That was a thing?" Chris smirked. I turned away as Chris stripped off his boxers and pulled on Josh's clothes.

"Well I guess. Not really, I don't know. After what happened with Hannah and Beth he came to me for support. We talked a lot, he told me his secrets… we had a connection."

"I always knew he had a thing for you. When we were younger he used to joke about how weird it would be id he kissed you while you and the twins had sleep over's." Chris laughed, walking out of the room to put his boxers in the washer along with soap. He turned is on and sighed. "I never knew he had the guts to actually do it."

"Oh come on Chris it was only a kiss. He was so upset… he came over to watch a movie, things got emotional, he said something about me being an amazing person and then he…. just planted one on me." I remembered how it felt to have his soft lips against mine that night. How that kiss seemed to last for an eternity, how the world around us slowed to a complete stop. When he pulled away his beautiful emerald eyes met mine.

"That hypocrite, always trying to convince me to sexually harass Ash with my manhood but he couldn't even get there with Sam." Chris spoke to himself, his voice pulling me back to reality.

"Um, ew." I laughed bumping playfully into Chris as I walked past him. "So RomCom?" I walked to the kitchen and searched for my trusty stash of popcorn.

"Not a chance." Chris followed. "How about something Sci-fi. Aliens."

"Gross Chris, can't we just be normal teenage girls for once?" Chris rolled his eyes, heading for the couch.

"Only if you braid my hair" I could hear the smile in his voice. I quickly threw the popcorn into the microwave, the smell of its buttery goodness filling the house. "Jeez Sam don't you have anything good?"

"Yeah!" I laughed "RomComs!" I poured the bag of popcorn into a bowl. Looking over at Chris his puppy dog eyes were full throttle "Ugh, fine. I think I have Serenity near the back."

"Boo… Not even a good one" he smirked. We positioned ourselves on the couch the way we previously had. Slowly we both drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3- Shadows

**Hey guys, im sorry for the lacking content and the lack of update, my life is super hectic as of late. I promise it will improve.**

It screeched loudly beside me, its misshapen body inches from mine as tried my hardest to remain perfectly still. This was her; this is what poor Hannah had become, starving for days until she finally broke down and ate her own sister. This is what we had created. It goes through my head a million times a day: "If I had been faster I could have warned her, I could have saved her." But it was too late, just wishful thinking, because now; beside me… was what used to be Hannah. She was hunting me now, like a lion and gazelle… and my only hope was to stay perfectly still. She shrieked once more, jumping from me to the stairs, this was my chance… RUN! I sprinted for the door, quickly ducking to dodge one Wendigo only to be caught my Hannah. She grabbed me by my neck, thrusting me into the wall.

"No!" I screamed, kicking and thrashing about, but it was too late… she got me.

"Sam?" The Wendigo said, but not in Hannah's voice, the voice was male. "Sam?!" It yelled on more time, my eyes widened as it pulled me closer. The wendigo's face now inches from mine. "Sam! Wake up!" It screamed at me.

I suddenly opened my eyes to see Chris, his hands placed on my shoulders to support my upright body as if he had shaken me. He looked concerned; acting so quickly to wake me that he had forgotten to put his glasses on. Sun shined brightly through the curtains as I rubbed my eyes softly.

"What happened?" I mumbled in a sleepy tone, Chris quickly kissed my forehead and pulled me into a tight bear hug.

"I think you were having a nightmare." He whispered.

"What time is it, Chris?"

"Almost noon… we slept for forever." He grinned "I didn't even have to sit through the crappy movie."

"Shit… Chris you should get back to Ashley…" I stood quickly, searching for my phone only to be met by Chris's hand near my face, phone in hand.

He shook his head slowly, running his fingers through the blonde mess he called hair. "Nah, Figure id give her time to cool, I'm sure she'll call me when she wants to talk to me."

"Nice bed head, dude" I chuckled, reading the 16 missed texts from Ashley. "She seems pretty upset… she texted me a bunch."

He shrugged, fixing his hair calmly with his fingers. "She'll call me when she's ready, Sam. Let's go get some food or something okay? I don't really want to think about this… I miss her already."

I sighed softly, nodding my head in agreement "Just let me go get dressed." I headed to my room and closed the door tightly, stripping the pj's from my athletic body. Walking to my closet I could hear the Tv in the living room turn on, some comedy show perhaps. My closet was full of tank tops and jackets, dresser drawers full of shorts and yoga pants. I quickly grabbed a purple sport tank top and pulled it over my head, next stepping into some black yoga pants I hadn't worn in almost a year. I looked into the mirror and smiled, finger-brushing all of the knots out of my hair and pulling it into a messy bun before heading back to Chris.

"Looking good, but isn't it a little weird to be wearing yoga pants? I didn't even bring my mat."

I rolled my eyes at his comment, heading for the front door. "Your car or mine?"

"Sam… I walked here… Hence the totally soaked clothing in your washing machine that we never got to drying" He chuckled, pointing to the sweat pants.

"Oh… right, you cant exactly go out in those" I muttered.

"Says who? I'm not ashamed of my sweat pants." He winked "I do what I want." Chuckling he strolled to the door, opening it before bowing. "M'Lady." His hands gestured towards the outside world.

"Dork" I snorted as I grabbed the keys off of the wall and walked to the car, I froze dead in my tracks… My eyes widened as I nearly fell to the ground. It was him, across the street, Josh… just a few car lengths from me, staring directly into my eyes.

"Sam? Are you ok-" Chris froze behind me _. It must be real! I wasn't crazy after all! Chris sees him this time too!_ I thought. Slowly Josh turned away from us and began walking away, following the narrow sidewalk path between the other houses and disappearing behind the. Almost immediately, without a single word Chris had taken off into a full sprint towards where we saw josh disappear.

"Chris!" I screamed, running after him. _Could it really be him? Could Josh really be alive?..._


	5. Chapter 4-The lonely

The world smelled earthy as our shoes kicked up wet gravel and mud. Chris had gotten a head start but I had trailed closely behind him. "Chris, Wait!" I screamed, keeping up my full sprint. "How do you even know he went this way?!"

"Where else could he have gone?!" He huffed back. "Keep up, little miss rock climber." I rolled my eyes, pushing my body harder. The rain began in slow little sprinkles but as we ran it got heavy, in a matter of minutes we were soaked. I looked around slowly; suddenly we seemed so far from my house. Through twists and turns we managed to get into a completely different neighborhood, on either side of us were tall wooden fences surrounding houses, nowhere to go but down the wet alley or back the way we came.

"I don't really recognize the area… How long were we running?" I took in a deep breath, pulling my phone from my bra. "Jeez… how did we manage a full sprint for 10 minutes? Got to be a world record." I huffed, watching Chris press his back against a covered area of a house and slide down to the ground, shaking the rain out of his messy blonde hair.

"I'm not crazy am I? You saw that too…" Chris spoke softly, trying hard to steady his breathing.

"Yeah… I saw it." I replied, walking to him and planting myself next to him. The next few moments were silent, the only things we heard was the soft patter of rain on concrete. "I miss him." I closed my eyes and rested my head on my knees.

"Me too, Sam." He sighed, wrapping his arm around me. "It's freezing out here, and we are soaked. Let's head back." He stood up quickly, pulling me up with him. His blue eyes focused on mine, and every fell into what seemed to be slow motion. Very suddenly his soft lips crashed into mine, in a few tiny seconds, our lips danced before I jumped back.

"C-Chris!?" my eyes wide with shock I shook my head. "What the hell!"

"I'm sorry! Shit… It just felt right." He stuttered.

"Well definitely NOT right! Remember Ashley, Chris? Your GIRLFRIEND!" I exclaimed.

"I… I'm sorry, Sam. Really, I am." He looked to the ground. "I don't know how to feel right now, I miss my best friend, I'm lonely, my girlfriend wants to take a break, I-"

"Wait, Ashley wants to take a break?" I interrupted, stepping closer. "Chris… I'm so sorry…"

"It's fine, we had a pretty bad fight and at the end of it… well, she thought we could use some time apart." He sighed "I didn't mean to freak you out I just… felt sad, and confused, so I did a stupid thing."

"Chris, it's fine. Let's just go get lunch and forget it even happened, okay?" I smiled. His eyes met mine and a big wolfy grin appeared on his face before he practically pounced on me, his arms pulling me into an almost violent hug.

"You're the best, Sam. Really…" as we began to walk he left one arm around me, and to most, we would almost look like a couple.

"I really hope Ashley doesn't decide to stop by." I joked, locking my fingers into the hand that hung off of my right shoulder, casually I wrapped my left arm around him.

"Oh, don't even joke about it!" he shook his head, rain dripping from our hair. "So… What exactly happened between you and Josh?..." Chris mumbled, his tone implying he was curious, but didn't want to pry.

"We'll… I'm not even sure anymore, I thought he liked me… I… I liked him." I sighed, keeping pace with Chris as we walked the lonely back alleys of god knows where. "We used to kiss, and cuddle. He would tell me the things that were troubling him. I thought we had a connection."

"Im sorry Sammy. You know, Josh used to talk about this hot piece of ass he was 'working on'. Sometimes it was all he would talk about, maybe he meant you." Chris spoke sympathetically, but all I could do was roll my eyes.

"Nope, not me. He and I agreed it would be better to not tell anyone until the time was right."

"Well I'm not everyone." Chris grinned. "He and I are better than best friends, we're bros…. NO! better! We are 'Bro-Friends'." I couldn't help but laugh when he exclaimed Josh was his 'Bro-Friend'.

"Do everyone a favor, and NEVER say that EVER again." I laughed, covering my smile with my hand.

"Awww why not? Could be a knew word and everything. They put 'twerk' in the dictionary ya know? Maybe it'll catch on!" Chris chuckled. We laughed and joked about minor things until we came to the entrance to the alley way just across the street from my house. As we approached the yard I froe and gasped.

"Chris! The door is busted open!" I cried

"Shit, ummm I'll go take a look okay? You just chill out here."

"In the rain? I don't think so." I shook my head, walking away from Chris, only to feel his hang grasp mine as he followed closely behind. As we approached the door, chris placed a hand on my shoulder.

"At least let me go in first?" He whispered, and though he had asked, he went ahead before I could protest. I followed him into the house, immediately after entering I could see that the house looked untouched. "Maybe you didn't close the door all the way?" he quietly questioned.

"No way!" I protested in a hushed tone. "I locked it before we left, it had to be shut completely."

After searching the house, it was confirmed that nothing had been stolen, the only thing we had found were big wet shoe prints going from the front door to my room.

"So if they didn't take anything, why would they break in in the first place?" Chris wondered out loud. "What if they were looking for you, Sam? If you hadn't come with me to chase our disappearing Josh you could be dead right now!" He turned to me, a concerned look on his face.

"Chris, don't be ridiculous, I don't have anything worth taking, except my tv, but that thing is like a million pounds. They probably broke in, then took off when they couldn't find anything."

"Sam, you have an entire box jewelry box full of sellable goods. You have plenty of things that could have been taken! They weren't after money!" he put his hands on my shoulders and lightly shook me. "I don't think its safe for you to be here, we need to call the cops and pack you some clothes."

"I don't have anywhere to go, Chris." I protested.

"Emily should be back from her New York trip soon, or there's Jess and Ashley… Their house is always open to you, you know that."

"Tempting, but I'll pass. I'm sure I'll be fine here."

"Well at least camp out at my place for a few nights." He demanded.

"Chris, really. I'll be okay here." I laughed.

"Sam, go pack your bags, or so help me god I will pack every single pair of mom jeans and granny panties you have in there." He laughed, lightly pushing me all the way to my room. I could have protested, I could have fought back, but instead I willingly followed his plan, laughing the entire way to my room. We took a few moments to pack essentials, shoving yoga pants and jogging shorts into a small suit case, along with some t-shirts and a few zip up hoodies. Chris went into the bathroom and grabbed my travel toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and tossed them lightly into my bag. "Anything we're missing?"

"Phone charger, maybe a good book?" I joked, pulling my charger from the wall and putting it in the front pocket of the bag. "Nope, I guess I have everything. I still think you are being ridiculous though." He rolled his eyes, grabbing my hand and bag and dragging me to the car after once again locking the front door.

"You can either drive us to my house, or you can hand over the keys and I'll drive us there." He explained, I could tell by his tone that there was no way out of this. I sighed softly and tossed him my keys before hopping into the passenger seat.

"Just don't wreck my ride." I joked, buckling my seatbelt.

"Oh ha-ha, I'm a good driver."

"Need I remind you of sophomore year?" I giggled; Chris's face began to turn bright red.

"You know what, I think I'm going to ignore you." He chuckled; we slowly pulled out of the driveway and headed across town to his house. Watching trees pass by I slowly spaced out, thinking only of Josh.


	6. Chapter 5-Panic

"Would you get your ass into the house?" He yelled jokingly as he half heartedly shoved me through the front door. I almost immediately began taking off my soaking shirt while Chris dragged in my suit case and did the same. "Shit! I'm fucking freezing!" he shivered as he threw my suit case on his couch and ripped his shirt over his head and off of his body. As we continued to strip we made our way to the laundry room, our skin ice cold.

"Have any spare clothes for me?" I asked, pulling my pants from my legs so I was only in my bra and underwear. He turned to me after pulling his soaking wet pants off as well. Chris blushed as he covered his eyes and turned away.

"Yeah… I'm sure Ashley left something here at some point… You look about her size." He mumbled as he scooped the clothes off of the floor and threw them in the washer and turned it on.

"What? Never seen boobs before?" I laughed.

"Not yours, quit playing… it's been a while." He sighed; smiling as he walked by "I'll go grab your clo-" Suddenly he was cut off by a light knock on the door, panicking he ran to his room and pulled a robe over his almost naked body. I watched from the doorway as he walked across the hall, through the living room, and to the front door. He opened it slowly, only to jump back from Ashley storming in so angrily she didn't even notice me run from the laundry room to Chris's room across the hall and shut the door.

"You!" I heard her yell. "You didn't even call me to let me know you were safe! I stopped by earlier and you weren't here. I was worried sick!" she exclaimed.

"What were you expecting me to do Ash? You told me you wanted to take a break, was I supposed to call you every chance I had only for you to ignore me?" Chris seemed calm, though I could hear the emotion cracking through his voice.

"Well… no… I… I was just upset Chris… Please, please… forgive me?" she calmed her voice almost immediately.

"Ash…" there was a quick pause where I could only assume he had kissed her. "I could never stay mad at you… I was never mad in the first place. I was terrified of losing you, actually." He mumbled almost so quietly I could hardly hear it.

"Awww Chris…" I could almost picture them hugging at this point, Chris and Ashley's fights were few and far between, and they NEVER lasted long, neither of them had the willpower to hold a grudge. "Sooo…. Where were you last night, anyway? The house had been completely empty when I stopped by and you weren't answering your phone…" She started quietly, her jealousy showing loudly.

"Oh uh.. I was out with friends, I left my phone charger here and it died. Sorry babe."

"Friends? Mike and Matt?" She asked politely.

"Something like that." He laughed "I'm glad you stopped by though… I love you Ashley."

"I love you too, Chris." I could feel them kissing and rubbing noses through the wall and it made me gag almost immediately, but suddenly I panicked. "Do you mind if I grab one of your jackets out of the room?" she asked, I could hear her footsteps suddenly starting towards the door.

"Uh I could do that for you babe!" Chris spoke loudly, as if to tell me to hide. I scurried around the room, searching for a place to hide; she was going for the closet so my only option was under the bed. I slid under the queen sized bed, trying my best to calm my breathing when I see the door begin to open. Chris's feet were all I saw enter the room, Ash's boots following closely behind. Under the bed with me I found one of Ashley's t-shirts, I tried to quietly slip it over my head and prayed she wouldn't find me here, under her boyfriend's bed; in nothing but HER t-shirt and panties.

"The blue one." She said in a happy voice. "It'll go perfectly with the heels you bought me!" very suddenly Ashley got to the floor, reaching under the bed for the shoe box beside me. "Where the hell is that box?" She put her cheek to the floor and lifted the bed skirt. My face was met with a loud shriek, Ashley jumped backwards, crawling backwards away from the bed "WHAT THE HELL!" She screamed. Quickly I crawled out from under the bed, my body trembling.

"Ash, it's just me! Ash, it's okay!" I spoke quickly. Looking over at Chris he looked panicked as Ashley stood up, anger and confusion plastered on her face.

"What the hell, Chris?!" she yelled, pushing him into the closet doors. "Is THIS what you've been up to?!" she wondered angrily "This is what you do when we fight?!"

"Ash, it… it isn't what it looks like!" Chris stuttered

"Let us explain-" I began to plead.

"You!" she turned to me, tears forming in her eyes. "You were supposed to be my best friend, and now I'm finding you in my boyfriend's house in your underwear!"She cried.

"Ash, you got it all wrong, really baby…. I… I love you." Chris explained, stepping closer to Ashley only to be pushed away again.

"Oh god… oh no… please… oh please please please tell me I didn't just walk in on your night to day fuck fest." She began to sob, backing into the corner of the room before sliding down to the floor.

"Ashley, with him? Come on, he's family…" I spoke softly, inching my way over to Ashley before sitting beside her. She looked at me with eyes that screamed betrayal.

"Ash, babe… please believe us. This really isn't what you think it is." Chris whispered, one hand covering his face and the other hugging himself around the waist.

"You have… two seconds to convince me you aren't the scum of the earth" She whispered in a venom heavy tone, her voice beginning to sound nasal-ey from crying.

"I saw Josh, WE… saw Josh" I began, only to be met with an eye roll. "It was raining, and we ran after him but we couldn't find him. By the time we had gotten back to my place we were both soaked" I explained, remembering the wet clothes we had left in the washer the night before.

"When we got to her house the door was wide open even though we had locked it before we left, I told her that I wasn't going to let her stay there because she might be in danger so I took her here. Baby I swear we were going to get changed and then call you. We literally got her maybe 8 minutes before you." Chris interjected, walking to Ashley and dropping to his knees. "Baby… I would never EVER hurt you like that." Tears began continued to stream down her cheeks as she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. As she pulled away she looked back at me sadly, opening her mouth once more.

"Then why was Sam hiding? You guys could have just told me this… Like when I first got here. You know, instead of acting shady."

"I was afraid you could freak out." I whispered apologetically.

"Because I didn't this way?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes and standing quickly. "You guys really suck! But…. I believe you… for now." She took a deep breath and looked at me, then at Chris, then back to me. "So… where are you staying?" she huffed.

"Well I was hoping… I could stay with you and Jess." I hugged her softly, and smiled happily when she hugged back.

"Duh… You might suck, but I can't have some random psycho stabbing my friend to death." I cringed at the thought of Josh chasing me through the cabin. "You okay?" she asked half heartedly.

"Yeah, I'll live." I looked to Chris, the panic buried underneath the calm mask he wore. Ashley pulled him to her, pressing her lips to his for a quick smooch, before walking to the closet and snatching the coat.

"I'm taking this." She stated, almost as if it was the only form of payback she could conjure up at the moment. Chris chuckled softly and grinned his wolfy grin before pulling her and I both into a tight bear hug.

"It's all yours babe!" he kissed her head quickly "Just like me, I'm all yours!" She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Just don't EVER do that to me ever again!" She giggled a little, her bubbly personality slowly beginning to shine through the tears again. "You guys hungry? I can make something here while you guys wash your clothes wand dry them." I nodded happily before pulling her once more into a hug.

"I can help cook if you'd like." I said as Chris opened the bedroom door for us.

"I'd love that." She smiled innocently as we began walking to the kitchen, Chris following us closely behind. "So… You guys saw Josh?" She asked, opening the fridge to examine its contents.

"Well, I thought we did… but after chasing after him he disappeared." I sighed "Maybe I'm crazy…"

"We did, we saw him, both of us. It was real." Chris grumbled, I smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I guess if we both saw him then I couldn't have been a hallucination." I mumbled softly. Ashley moved things around in the fridge before pulling out a pack of bacon, along with eggs, milk, fresh herbs, and bell peppers. "So what's on the menu this fine day?"

"I was thinking breakfast burritos." She smiled happily, looking to Chris for reassurance.

"Sounds like heaven; I love your cooking babe." He replied in chipper tone. Ashley turned to me and froze for a second before pushing me into the hallway.

"Want to go put on some pants, captain underpants?" she laughed, I nodded quickly. "There should be some sweats or a pair of my jeans in the bottom of the dresser, knock yourself out." she then turned back to the fridge. Walking back to the room my phone began to buzz, I pulled it from my bra and froze where I stood.

"Guys?" I whimpered. It only took a few moments for Chris to be by my side.

"What the fuck…" Chris grabbed my phone, turning to Ashley who had been right behind him. She gasped when she saw the screen. A simple text, four words, one picture, a close up of a familiar smile. Well, half of once really, the picture was half of his face, from his left eye down to his chest. The beautiful smile that haunted my nightmares, and beneath it read 'It's been too long."


End file.
